By Elizabeth Whitman | Phoenix New Times
For months, Arizona regulators tasked with developing new utility shutoff rules appeared to dig in their heels at the prospect of soliciting advice from scientists and public health experts, despite public requests for them to do so.
That changed earlier this week. On Tuesday, October 29, staff at the Arizona Corporation Commission contacted Liza Kurtz, a PhD student at Arizona State University who studies extreme heat, among other subjects, as well as Stephanie Elzenga, administrative counsel at the state Department of Health Services, a spokesperson for the commission said.
That outreach followed a Phoenix New Times article, published on October 28, that detailed criticisms of the Corporation Commission for failing to solicit scientific opinions, data, and research on key issues like the threat to human safety from terminating power during extreme heat. Emails show that staff ignored offers to help made months ago by scientists.
